"A Missing Leaf"

By Coded

Chapter 4: A New Target

' ' = Thoughts, " " = Speech

Sasuke stood on the bridge, waiting for his former teammates to show up. He studied the floor of the bridge, which he hadn't seen in a year, and idly wondered what was taking Sakura so long. After all, the only female in Team 7 was usually the first to show up for team meetings. He stuck his hands in he pockets as he thought back to the last things he remembered before waking up yesterday. There had been a fight, and Sasuke had turned to run, he remembered an enemy stepping in his way, and then everything went black.

'Why did I run?' Sasuke asked himself silently, 'Why do I always do things just to save my own hide?'

Just then he heard a loud cry off to his left. Lifting his head to discover where it had originated, he saw his teammates. Naruto was holding an apparently unconscious Sakura and fanning her face desperately. Sasuke smiled to himself at Sakura's reaction to him being awake again, and took the time to study what the last year had done to his teammates. Naruto looked much the same as he had before, just taller, and what appeared to be slightly longer hair. He no longer wore his signature orange jump suit, now sporting a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with red spirals on both of his shoulders. His pants looked much like the ones Kakashi once had.

Sasuke moved his gaze to Sakura, and his throat caught. She still looked as beautiful as always, with her hair still short. Sasuke preferred girls with long hair, however Sakura still looked beautiful with her short hair. Sasuke decided there really hadn't been that much of a change to Sakura since he had entered the coma, the only difference he saw was that instead of her old red dress, she now wore a light pink dress, almost the same shade as her hair.

Meanwhile, Naruto was in a panic trying to wake Sakura back up. The boy's breath quickened as his mind raced. What did this reaction mean? It certainly wasn't the one he was hoping for..did Sakura still have feelings for Sasuke that were just now revived? Naruto was still fretting over what Sakura fainting might mean when she woke, eyes lashes fluttering as she regained consciousness.

"Sakura-chan! You're awake! What happened!?" Naruto asked franticly.

"I just..I fainted, Naruto-kun, thats all..I wasn't expecting to see Sasuke there..nobody informed us that he was awake again." Sakura looked up into Naruto's face and saw something in his eyes she thought she'd never see Naruto show. Fear. His eyes were filled with raw, uncovered fear.

'He's worried I'm going to go back to chasing Sasuke,' the thought dawned upon her.

Getting up on her own two feet, Sakura reached out and pulled Naruto into a kiss. "Don't worry, my Naruto-kun, I'm not going to go running back to Sasuke." Sakura spoke after breaking away from the kiss.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief and the old Naruto was back, eyes full of confidence and happiness again. "Well," he began, "shall we go say hello to our long lost teammate, then?"

Sakura nodded and they once again began walking towards the bridge, hand in hand.

Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Sakura lean in and kiss Naruto on the lips after she had woken from the faint.

'What...the hell? What's going on here?' Sasuke thought to himself. 'This must be a dream..theres no way I just saw Sakura kiss the Dead last. Oh and now they're holding hands! That does it, this is DEFINITELY a dream.'

Naruto and Sakura stepped onto the bridge, stopping a few feet away from Sasuke. All three of the young ninjas were tense and rigid, examining each other like cats with their backs up. Naruto finally took the initiative and broke the silence.

"Well well," he began, a slight sneer forming on his face, "looks like the scaredy cat is awake again. Have a nice nap?"

Naruto didn't try to conceal the contempt he felt for his one time rival. It was common knowledge that after the border mission, Naruto had lost all faith and respect for Sasuke. Naruto no longer considered Sasuke a rival, instead stepping it up and placing himself among the ranks of the older shinobi in the village. There was even a rumor that Naruto viewed his sensei, Kakashi, as a rival now.

"It was fine," replied Sasuke with just as much contempt in his voice, "I see you still haven't gotten any stronger in the last year. Pathetic. Still dead last, I see."

Naruto growled low in his throat, a feral sound that made Sakura jump as he stepped back into a ready fighting position. "You wanna see just how much stronger I've gotten, coward?" Naruto snarled at his one time rival.

Sakura, seeing Sasuke ready himself for a fight as well, stepped in between the two, facing Naruto and placing a restraining hand against his chest. "Naruto-kun, please don't. You're both Leaf-nins, theres no reason to fight one another. Besides, you and I both know who would win, Sasuke just woke up, there's no need to put him back into a coma."

Sasuke had donned a condescending smile when Sakura had stepped between them to stop Naruto, but it was quickly melting. From the Naruto-kun, to the lack of a "-kun" added to his name, and finally the smile was replaced by a hanging jaw when Sakura had told Naruto not to put Sasuke back into a coma. As if the dead last could put the great Uchiha Sasuke into a coma!

'He couldn't have gotten that strong in the last year,' Sasuke thought to himself as he was once again surprised to see Sakura step back next to Naruto and put her arm through his, patting his hand comfortingly. Sasuke looked at the two suspiciously.

"Whats going on here?" Sasuke finally asked, seeing neither of them were going to volunteer the information.

It was Sakura who spoke up, much to Sasuke's surprise. But not as surprising as the response she gave him. "Me and Naruto-kun are together now, Sasuke. We have been for the last year."

Sasuke felt as if he'd been hit by a truck. 'What!? Sakura and Naruto? Together! This has got to be a joke!' His mouth opened and closed several times before he was finally able to force a single word out: "What?"

"She said we were together, idiot. You know, as in we're in a relationship, boyfriend and girlfriend. Significant others." Naruto spoke up, wrapping his arm protectively around Sakura's shoulders and pulling her closer to himself.

Sasuke's mind still couldn't grasp what was being told to him. 'Together? Them? No, this is wrong! Sakura is supposed to love ME! She's supposed to be with ME! Not him! Anyone but him!!'

Sakura watched as Sasuke's expression went from one of confusion, to hurt, to anger before he spoke up again, focusing on Sakura. "How? ..WHY? You loved me, not him! Why are you with him and not me!?"

Sakura's face grew hard as Sasuke went on, her temper growing with every word. "This is why, Sasuke. You care about nobody and nothing but yourself. Naruto-kun cares for me, and makes me happy. Thats something you never did for me. All you did was ignore me, and act cold towards me, and where were you when I needed you the most? You ran away, leaving me alone. Naruto-kun would never leave me." She finished her spiel with a sniff for emphasis.

Sasuke was still trying to think of a way to respond when Kakashi appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Ah, I see all three of you are here. Naruto, Sakura, you obviously now know that Sasuke is awake from his coma again. However, some things need to be taken care of, and you two have a mission to accomplish today while I bring Sasuke up to date. Go talk to Tsunade-sama for the details. Dismissed." With a wave of his hand, the jounin waved off Naruto and Sakura, turning to Sasuke and placing a hand upon the boy's shoulder. Seeing the hurt in Sasuke's eyes as he watched Naruto and Sakura walk away together, Kakashi frowned behind his mask.

"We have some things to talk about, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded dumbly as he allowed himself to be led off by Kakashi, while his sensei began speaking about the events of the past year.

Kakashi told him all about the small skirmishes that took place between the Leaf and the Cloud, however hostilities were quickly ended when it became apparent to the Cloud that the quality of the shinobi of Konoha had great improved since the last war. Sasuke stared blankly as Kakashi told him of Sakura and Naruto's rise to chuunin, the trials they had fought through in the exam, with it being just the two of them. He was happy to hear of Sakura's sudden rise in strength, even if it was a product of her personal training with Naruto.

Kakashi was still droning on about meaningless things then Sasuke suddenly spoke up. "What about Naruto and Sakura..? What..happened? When?"

Kakashi sighed and led the boy into a ramen shop where they took seats at the bar. "Well," he began, searching for the right words to use, "I supposed Sakura realized her feelings for Naruto the day you were put into your coma, atleast thats what it seemed like after the fight. He saved her life two times that day, and I guess thats what brought out her feelings for him. Two days after we returned to Konoha and Naruto was awake again, they were together. I haven't seen them apart for more than an hour since that day, about a year ago."

Sasuke nodded and attempted to conceal the hurt he felt inside. Sakura was the only person he had allowed himself to get close to, and now she had been ripped away from him. 'Why...why does my chest hurt so much? I haven't hurt like this since...since that day..' Sasuke thought to himself, as suddenly the day his older brother, Itachi, had killed every other member of the Uchiha clan, including Sasuke's parents.

Sasuke swallowed several times, trying to get rid of the lump in his throat before he finally spoke. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei..I'm going to go home now...taking in all this new information has made me tired.."

The boy stood and without waiting for an answer, turned and walked out of the shop. As soon as he was around the corner, where he was sure Kakashi couldn't see him, he broke into a run.

Sasuke didn't stop running until he was back in the safety of his own home, where nothing had changed and there wasn't anything to surprise him. 'How could I let this happen?' he asked himself, "I mean...Sakura and Naruto? Not only that, but she looked so...happy..with him. This isn't the way it was supposed to happen! She is supposed to be happy with me! God, why didn't I tell her how I felt when I had the chance? I'm so stupid.."

Sasuke lashed out and punched the wall nearest him, knocking a hole straight through it. "GOD DAMN IT!!" He yelled out in frustration, sinking to the floor where he sat hugging his knees. "I..I can't let this stand..I have to do something...I can't lose Sakura..think Sasuke, THINK!" He spoke to himself, his voice echoing around the emptiness of his apartment. "Ok..Sakura loved me for as long as I can remember..she HAS to still have feelings for me! If I tell her how I feel, I bet she'll leave Naruto to be with me! I'm a genius!" Jumping to his feet, Sasuke set out to find Sakura and tell her how he had really felt, how he still felt.

It was dark by the time he found her. She was walking Naruto back to his apartment, and it appeared she was the only thing keeping him standing. Sasuke got closer, so he could get a better look at the two. Naruto was splashed in some dark liquid that Sasuke had originally thought to be mud, when he took a closer look, though, he realized what it really was: blood.

'Blood? I wonder what happened..Sakura doesn't appear to be injured at all. ..I wonder how much of that blood is Naruto's.' Sasuke thought to himself as he suddenly dropped down off the roof he had been standing on, and stepped into the pool of light Sakura and Naruto were currently passing through.

Sakura and Naruto came to a stop when they saw their former teammate step into the light. Sakura eyed Sasuke suspiciously as he began speaking, she no longer trusted his judgements, and was afraid he may have come here to pick a fight with Naruto.

"Sakura..I need to talk to you." Sasuke said. "Alone." He emphasized the word, while staring Naruto in the eyes to make his point.

Sakura kept a firm hold on Naruto as he attempted to step forward, between Sasuke and herself, growling softly.

"Shh, quiet Naruto-kun. We don't need a fight," she told her blond counterpart. Turning to look at Sasuke she spoke directly to him, "Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of Naruto-kun. I don't keep secrets from him, he knows everything I know, so he'd just end up hearing it anyway."

Sasuke seemed to not hear Sakura speak, and he sneered at Naruto. "You wanna fight, Dead Last? Doesn't look like you're in the shape for a fight, what happened? You piss off some academy student stronger than you?"

Naruto growled again, and his breathing became more rapid, but Sakura was glad to see him hold his temper to just anger in his eyes, rather than jumping out and attacking Sasuke. Instead, he answered the question, voice calm, speaking deliberately. "Actually, I had a mission involving some missing-nin I had to track down. You know, chuunin business."

The way he stressed "chuunin" caused Sasuke to grind his teeth in frustration. Sasuke knew he was easily at chuunin level, if it wasn't for his coma, he would be one too. 'But I'm not,' he thought to himself, 'I'm just a genin, while my teammates are chuunins, and Naruto is rubbing that in.'

"Fine," Sasuke spoke aloud, turning his attention back to Sakura. "I came here to tell you something. Something important. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

Sakura didn't like the tone of voice the raven-haired boy had taken on, and shrugged uncomfortably under his stare. 'What could he have to tell me?' she wondered to herself. "All right," she answered, "Make it fast, I need to get Naruto-kun home, he has to rest."

Sasuke fumed. He didn't want to do this in front of Naruto, and now he was being hurried by Sakura for the sake of Naruto. He almost turned and walked away, leaving his feelings left unsaid. Almost. "Sakura..I..I'm not sure how to tell you this, so I'll just say it plain, I love you." Sasuke finished in a rush of words, eager to finally get it out and in the open.

Sasuke held his breath for the responses he knew were about to come. Sakura just stared at him as if he had two heads, but he didn't expect much else, he was sure she was in shock of her crush revealing feelings for her. It was Naruto's reaction he was bracing himself for. And it came. But nothing like he was expecting.

Naruto played what Sasuke had said over in his head several times, letting it sink in. He loved Sakura? Hah! What did the Uchiha know of love? Naruto couldn't hold in his mirth, and let out a loud and raucous belly laugh. "Ahahaha! You love Sakura-chan? Oh this is great, Uchiha Sasuke is jealous that the lowly Uzumaki Naruto has something he doesn't. Good one, asshole, you almost had me going." Naruto's voice broke off as he let forth another round of laughs.

Sasuke's eyes bulged in anger, how dare this..this ORPHAN laugh at an Uchiha! Sasuke wasn't sure if he preferred this reaction, or the reaction he was expecting to get, which consisted of loud shouts, anger, and possibly physical confrontation. Ignoring Naruto for the moment, Sasuke focused on Sakura, looking into her eyes.

"It's true," he said weakly, "I...I love you...I just never knew how to say it..despite what Naruto thinks."

Sakura stared at Sasuke, trying to think of something to say. He loved her? It WAS hard to believe, Naruto was right. But whether it was true or not didn't matter any to Sakura. "You're too late, Sasuke," she finally spoke, "You had your chance, I liked you for the longest time. But not anymore. I love Naruto-kun now, I'm sorry, but thats all there is to it. Now..if you'll excuse us, I still have to get him home."

Naruto nodded his approval and set off with Sakura towards his apartment, passing Sasuke without a word. 'No need to rub it in,' Naruto thought to himself, 'then I'd be no better than him.'

Sasuke's body was frozen. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Sakura had passed him over for Naruto? Sasuke's eyes stared off at nothing as the couple limped past him silently. Wide-eyed, Sasuke's hands began to shake. 'What..what am I supposed to do now?' Sasuke thought in desperation. The one person he had allowed himself to have feelings for had rejected him.

Suddenly, it struck Sasuke. 'She's just like him..they're all like him. They just hurt me. But no more..never again will I get close to someone.' He silently vowed. All the despair and pain he was feeling was turned to stone. Cold and hard, it encased his heart and he was once again Uchiha Sasuke. Avenger. Prodigy of a dead clan. He was above feelings, he was cold, he was ruthless. And he had two goals for his life. His list of men to kill had just doubled. Uchiha Itachi, his brother and the killer of his family. Sasuke had vowed to kill him long ago. Now he vowed to kill another man. Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke removed his forehead protector and held it before him, staring at the leaf symbol engraved on the metal. 'I'm wasting my time here,' he thought to himself. 'I'm not getting any stronger.' Sasuke's mind moved to the cursed seal that had begun to throb on the back of his neck. Turning his focus back to the forehead protector, he viciously broke the metal and threw it on the ground, before turning on his heels and running as hard as he could; towards the outskirts of the village, and beyond. To the Village of Sound.

Naruto awakened with a start, groaning slightly and rolling out of bed, still in his pajamas. He grumbled as he moved towards the door to open it and find out what all the banging was about. "For the love of all thats holy, what?" He said irritably as he opened the door to find a wide-eyed messenger standing there, cowering under the baleful gaze of the blond chuunin.

"It's Sasuke..." he began.

Naruto covered a yawn with his hand. "Yea, whats so special about that idiot that I had to be woken up for?"

"..He's missing."

Author's Notes

Woo..long chapter this time..think they'll start to get larger from now on. Thank you again for all the positive reviews, and I have a request for any of you readers out there..I have a fight scene upcoming, and I don't really speak any japanese, so I'm having a hard time thinking up some jutsus. So if any of you have any ideas for a jutsu you'd like to see in the story, email me the information, I'd appreciate it!

Again, hope you're all still enjoying the story, and I'll try to get chapter 5 written as soon as possible.